


Conscious

by BlueScanner



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2019-11-27 13:05:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18194957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueScanner/pseuds/BlueScanner
Summary: A confusing picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing after a battle emerges, causing doubt in the mind of the Lady Luck.





	1. One

Marinette had, on average, looked at the photo 3 times a day for the past week. Not that she would admit it, of course. She couldn’t wrap her mind around how it had happened. No matter how many situations she ran through in her head it never ended in them _kissing_. And so passionately! That may have been the worst part for her. She must have been on her toes to reach his face, and the position of his shoulder suggested heavily that one hand was on her waist and the other locked in one of hers.

Had she not studied this photo obsessively, she wouldn’t have noticed any of this. If she had simply moved on and blamed it on the akuma’s affects then she wouldn’t have been staring at her computer screen at that moment, lips pursed. But evidently she just wasn’t capable of putting the image in the back of her mind. _How_ did they end up like that? It plagued her mind like a virus. “You’re going to hurt your eyes if you keep staring at your screen, Marinette.” Tikki said softly from Marinette’s loft.  
“I know.” Marinette replied, her fingers gently tapping her lips subconsciously. 

“It’s late.” Tikki yawned.

“Yeah...” 

“Marinette.” Tikki said, her voice louder.

Marinette sighed and clicked her computer off before spinning her chair around to face her bed loft. “I really just can’t figure it out.”

“What is there to figure out? You’ve been looking at the photo non-stop, and you’ve dismissed every theory Chat Noir has suggested.” 

Marinette groaned. She genuinely believed that at this point she had looked at the picture more times than Chat Noir had. Of course she was wrong in this assumption, but she had no way of knowing that. “Oh right, I’ve been meaning to ask you, why didn’t the picture Alya took get deleted after I used my lucky charm?”

“Well... Your lucky charm has trouble with technology. For almost all of my existence there hasn’t been anything like it. It isn’t reliable.” 

“So could there be anything on my phone from during the akuma attack?” Marinette stood up and stretched her arms. 

“Yes, but do you think you would have left anything for yourself?” 

Marinette thought for a moment. “Probably not. I remember leaving myself the message on the elevator wall... But would I have even thought about putting something in my phone?” She crawled up to her loft. “No, I don’t think I would have. But I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look anyways, right?” 

“If that’s what you want to do, Marinette.” Tikki tugged the blankets up around Marinette as she laid down before snuggling in beside her. Tikki, in all her infinite wisdom, was unsure how to handle the situation. Just like Marinette, she didn’t remember anything. She knew Chat Noir’s identity, but it wasn’t in her to tell Marinette. It was very, very difficult at times to keep herself silent. Adrien and Marinette could be borderline insufferable at times with their blindness. But she felt it wasn’t her place, and these sorts of things typically were best when no one interfered.

But this was an odd situation. The picture’s existence would certainly cause... something. Tikki knew she could simply push things along, move them faster, but one of the major factors holding her back was the confusion on what she would even do. Telling Marinette that she has known for a very, very long time the fact that her _friend zoned_ partner in crime was also the boy she desperately loved might not go over well. 

Plagg on the other hand simply didn’t care enough. It almost amused him to watch them fumble around. What had caught his attention presently was the sight of Adrien obsessing over every screen he could get his hands on. Oh, and the poorly hidden printed picture, too. Shockingly, no amount of teasing deterred Adrien from his never ending admiration. With this constant admiration came a million theories thrown Plagg’s way.

“What if I saved Ladybug’s life in there and that’s why she fell in love with me and kissed me?” Adrien said, coating his brush with toothpaste.  
“Just as likely as everything else you’ve come up with.” Plagg lazed on the counter, his eyes shut. Adrien popped the toothbrush into his mouth with a frown. “You aren’t going to figure out why you kissed by spit balling ideas at someone who remembers nothing. But by all means, be my guest. Some of these are hilarious.”

Adrien spat into the sink and glanced down to Plagg. “Remind me to run more ideas by Ladybug.”

“I won’t.” Plagg waved his hand. 

“Don’t you think it’s crazy? Plagg, we _kissed_!” Adrien nearly glided from the bathroom to his bedroom. “It’s been a week and it’s still all I can think about.”

“That’s a little sad, actually.”

“Say what you will, but it’s the best thing that has happened to me in a long time.” Adrien plopped onto his bed. 

“Sadder.” 

“You know my dad has been extra absent lately, always working. And to make it better he’s got me up and modelling more often. So this feels like a shot of fresh air. Better than fresh air even.” Adrien rolled onto his side to face Plagg, who had followed him, and was now poking around, trying to find a spot to sleep in. 

“Whatever helps you, weirdo.” Plagg gave up and shot off, coming back with a dirty sock. 

“Don’t bring that so close to my face.” Adrien swatted the sock away as Plagg approached. He wiggled into the sock and let himself drop onto the bed, humming with content. Adrien turned on his back and looked up to ceiling, his mind racing with more ideas to throw Ladybug’s way, hoping to soon recapture what brought them together so quickly.


	2. Two

“My Lady, mind if I throw another idea your way?” Chat Noir said as he propelled to another rooftop, following Ladybug. 

“Only if you promise me it’s your last one.” Ladybug replied, glancing back briefly to her partner.

“What if I heroically saved your life while we were trapped inside and that’s why you fell _madly_ in love with me?” He said with a purr. Ladybug let out a groan that Chat Noir decided to blame on the wind blowing aggressively past him. 

“It was only a kiss, Chat. No one ever said anything about love.” Ladybug shook her head as she came to a halt at the edge of a rooftop. Chat Noir landed beside her, glancing in her direction with a smirk. “Stop looking at me and look for where the akuma went.” 

“Sorry, you’re just too _purr_ fect.” He said with a wink. Ladybug pursed her lips and scanned the streets below. A flash of light emanated from an apartment window across the road, drawing both of their attention. They both leapt from the building in sync, diving down towards the window. Chat perched on the window sill and watched as Ladybug hung from her yoyo, hovering beside him. He slid the window open and slipped in, Ladybug in tow. 

A figure of pure light stood before a pile of clothes with shoes poking out. A child was crouched in the corner, covering her head. “Don’t cower in the shadows like that! Come! Come!” The figure beckoned to the child, taking slow steps forward. 

“The akuma has to be in the choker.” Ladybug whispered, gesturing to the only part of the figure not glowing intensely. As quiet as Ladybug thought she was, it clearly wasn’t low enough to escape the akuma. The figure’s head whipped around, locking onto the newly arrived superheroes. 

“The more the merrier!” The figure lunged for Ladybug, who just barely dodged its hand. She stumbled forward for a moment, just long enough for the figure to readjust and take another shot towards her back. Chat Noir, still steady on his feet, extended his baton and swung forward, taking out the figure’s knees just as it nearly grazed Ladybug’s back.  
“Hands off the Lady.” He said, reaching forward and ripping the choker from the Figure’s neck. An akuma fluttered out from the tear, gently flying to the window. The Figure morphed to a middle aged woman, still on her knees. 

“Not on my watch.” Ladybug said, throwing her yoyo towards the akuma, catching it. She released the purified butterfly through the window. She turned to face Chat Noir, who was crouched next to the woman. She tossed the yoyo in the air, returning everything back to normal. A man appeared where the pile of clothing once laid. The child jumped up and rushed towards the man, wrapping her arms around his legs. 

“Dad!” She cried out, holding him tight. Ladybug smiled at the sight then looked back to Chat Noir who stood up and looked her way. 

“So I just heroically saved your life. Do you feel anything?” Chat said, raising his eyebrows.

“All I feel is relief that the akuma is dealt with, and without using cataclysm or lucky charm.” Ladybug said, helping the woman to her feet. 

“Are you sure you haven’t fallen madly in love with me?” He leaned on his baton, staring Ladybug down. She sighed and shook her head. 

“Chaton, you aren’t going to recreate whatever happened. It never happened before then, and it isn’t going to now.” Ladybug frowned, stepping towards the still open window. “But... If we talk about it now, will you drop it later?” 

“You mean go on a date?” 

“No, I mean we can go to a rooftop and talk.” Ladybug climbed out of the window and stood on the sill. “Follow me.” She threw her yoyo and swung out, swinging from building to building. Chat Noir followed behind, running on rooftop ledges. After a few blocks, Ladybug dropped upon a flat rooftop overlooking the Eiffel tower in the distance, Chat Noir following shortly after. “Do you have any other theories you want to run by me before you can never bring it up again?” 

Chat Noir paused for a moment, thinking. In all honestly he was drawing a blank. He had gone through what he thought was every possibility already. But he couldn’t leave his Lady hanging. This was his chance! His last opportunity. “We would have seen our identities, right?” 

“Yes, probably. You had already used your cataclysm and I used my lucky charm right before I was hit.”

“Right, so what if you saw _me_ , not Chat Noir, and fell madly in love.” Chat Noir smiled.

Ladybug let out a snort. “Okay, for one, you’ve already suggested ideas similar to that, and there is only one person that could sweep me off my feet so easily. And you are not him.”

“Oh yeah? Try me. Maybe I am.” He winked. 

“We are not revealing our identities for this. You aren’t him, I can tell you that much.” Ladybug gave him a doubtful look. She pulled out her yoyo and slid it open, checking the time. “Sorry to cut this meeting short, Chat, but I have to go.” She turned, ready to swing away. “And, Chat?” 

“Yes, my Lady?” He replied, watching her. 

She sighed. “I’m only telling you this because you’re so fixated on what happened. I asked my kwami why the photo wasn’t erased after I fixed everything, she said that it doesn’t work very well on technology, so... If you put something on your phone during the time we were in the building, it’s probably still there. I couldn’t find anything on my phone, but feel free to look yourself.” 

Chat Noir smiled as Ladybug dove down, swinging away. He watched as she swung between buildings, eventually disappearing around a corner for the last time. Her saying that sparked hope in his heart. It meant that in some capacity, she wanted to know how it happened too. Even if she wouldn’t admit it, her hearing him out, not interrupting his theories, and now suggesting he check his phone shows that she does actually want to know. 

And therefore, Chat Noir would now not stop continuing to theorize.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally marked this fic as complete when it isn't, so it looked like this was the final chapter for a while. It's not, and I fixed the error.


	3. Three

“I see you’re taking what Ladybug said seriously.” Plagg said, folded over the back of a chair. 

“Of course I am. Did you know about how her lucky charm works with technology?” Adrien asked, swiping on his phone. 

“Did I suddenly become red and black?” Plagg rolled over, staring up at the ceiling. “I’ve never bothered to ask the details of how it works, especially not recently. But I’ll admit I had an idea that’s how it worked.” 

“You did? And you didn’t say anything?” Adrien sat up from his bed, his brows raised. 

“Did you expect me to?”

“No.” Adrien laid back down, his phone held over his face. “I don’t really know what I’m looking for. I didn’t take any photos while we were there, and there’s nothing in my recently deleted folder...”

“Maybe if you gave me some cheese I’ll toss you a few ideas.” Plagg smirked, hovering into the air slightly.

Adrien sighed. “You don’t have any ideas, do you.”

“No, but it was worth a try.” Plagg shrugged and dropped back onto the chair. Adrien rolled his eyes and continued searching. Checking app after app, finding nothing until he landed on his notes app. The most recent entry was from 1 week ago while they were in the building, and he had no memory of writing it. 

“Oh!” Adrien exclaimed excitedly. He sat upright and clicked on the note, watching it open. “ _LB/M?_ ” He read aloud. Plagg flew over in curiosity. “What does that mean?”

“I’m sure you can figure out that LB means Ladybug, right?” Plagg suggested, surprising Adrien with his contribution. 

“Yeah, of course. But _/M_?” Adrien frowned. “Is that the first initial for a name? Why didn’t I just write the whole thing?” 

“Maybe you just didn’t have time to. Your phone was dead when you checked on the bus back to school, remember?” 

“You’re right, Plagg! Maybe that’s all I could write before it shut down, or I needed to preserve power...” Adrien tapped his jaw. 

“I could keep giving you ideas for the cheap price of one slice of camembert.” Plagg hovered around Adrien’s head. 

“Not right now, Plagg. I’ll get you some during dinner.” Adrien continued to stare at the note. “Who do I know whose name starts with ‘M’?” He thought for a moment. “I think I can rule out Max.” 

“Really?” Plagg mocked surprise. “And here I was thinking Ladybug was Max this whole time.”

“M... M...?” Adrien’s mind was drawing a blank. In times where he was forced to think of a name, or an object, he usually found himself at a loss. “Mylene?” Adrien suggested. Plagg raised his eyebrows but kept his mouth shut. If he actually believed Mylene was Ladybug then this could be amusing. “She doesn’t exactly look like Ladybug, but at the same time... The suit can change how you appear. So for all I know...” 

Adrien’s (very incorrect) theory led him to observe Mylene over the next few days, watching her during class, talking to her more during their lunch periods, so on so forth. Just when he felt almost sure that she wasn’t Ladybug, he was approached by Ivan after class. 

“Hey uh, Adrien? Could we talk for a second?” Ivan asked, tapping Adrien’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, sure. Just let me pack up my bag.” Adrien said, stuffing his books into his bag. “I’ll catch up with you later, Nino.” He waved to Nino as he left before turning to face Ivan. “What’s up?”

“This is... kind of awkward... but I’ve noticed you staring at Mylene recently a lot...” Ivan rubbed the back of his neck. “And I just didn’t know if... You knew that we’re...” 

Adrien suddenly understood what Ivan was trying to communicate. “Oh! No! I mean yes! Yes I know!” He rushed out. Until this moment in time, Adrien genuinely believed he was being discreet. Evidently he was not. “I’m not into Mylene, it’s not that at all.” 

“Oh, good.” Ivan gave a tight smile and nodded. “I was... Getting a little worried is all.” 

“That’s totally understandable! I’m so sorry, I didn’t know that’s how it seemed. Thank you for telling me.” Adrien tried giving a smile, but he simply felt too uncomfortable with the situation at hand to do so properly. 

“No problem, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Ivan nodded his head to Adrien before heading out. The door clicked behind him, leaving Adrien alone in the classroom. Plagg stuck his head out from Adrien’s bag. 

“That was my favourite conversation ever.” 

“Don’t rub it in, Plagg.” Adrien sighed. “I don’t think Mylene is Ladybug, anyways. I feel kind of stupid for thinking that in the first place.”

“That’s fair.” Plagg ducked back into the bag as Adrien zipped it shut, pulling the strap over his shoulder. He made his way to the front entrance of the school, finding Nino on the steps. 

“Hey, bro.” Nino tipped his hat to Adrien as he approached. “What did Ivan want?”

“He thought I was into Mylene.” 

“Are you?” Nino asked. 

“What? No. Do you think I am?” Adrien’s eyebrows raised in shock. 

“Dude, you’ve been staring at her non-stop since Monday. It was sort of starting to weird me out, too, and I’m not even her boyfriend.” Nino punched Adrien’s shoulder lightly. 

“Oh my god. That’s not what this is at all, I swear.” Adrien groaned, leading Nino to his car. His bodyguard opened the car door, letting the two boys slide in together. “Nino, you have to promise me something.” 

“What?”

“You can’t bring this up _at all_ tonight. Not while I’m destroying you at Mega Battle.” Adrien shook his head. 

“You never destroy me at Mega Battle. You always give me that off-brand controller that barely works, which I don’t even know why you have! Your dad is loaded, you should have 2 regular controllers at least.” Nino laughed. 

“Oh I do. Just not for you.” Adrien laughed as well, already forgetting the embarrassment he felt. Now that he could safely rule out Mylene, as she didn’t fit Ladybug’s profile in looks or behaviour (although, if Ivan were to ask, Adrien would absolutely confirm that she is a lovely girl in the most platonic way possible), he needed a new target. Who else’s name started with M? 

He stared out of the window in thought, watching the buildings as they soared by. But once again, his mind was stuck with a blank. No one’s name, even ones that don’t start with M, would come to mind. He resolved himself to put it out of his mind while he hung out with Nino. He would deal with it later.


	4. Four

Ivan was not the only one to notice Adrien’s sudden interest in Mylene. No, not even remotely. Seeing as Marinette watched Adrien more than he watched Mylene, it was impossible for her not to notice. To add insult to injury, Alya felt the need to let Marinette know she noticed too. “It was super weird, right?” Alya asked, walking beside Marinette after school. 

“Yes, it was super weird and I don’t want to think about it.” Marinette groaned. She couldn’t bear to imagine Adrien being into someone else, she already had Kagami to worry about on that front. Mylene? She was taken, everyone knew that. Adrien had to be better than that, he couldn’t possibly be pining after someone in a relationship, right? She had to tell herself that. 

“Fine, if you insist.” Alya nudged Marinette’s shoulder. “Even though I know you’ll be thinking about it all night, girl.” 

Marinette only frowned in response. She paused before the door of her family’s bakery before turning to face Alya. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You know it.” Alya said with a wink, waving to Marinette as she walked away. The distraction that Adrien caused during class was enough to temporarily make Marinette forget about the photo. Ah yes, the photo. Now that she was home and free of Adrien’s focused gaze her mind drifted back to the photo. She grabbed a macaron from the counter of the bakery and said her hellos to her parents, her mind flooding. The search through her phone gave nothing, not even a suggestion of what happened. Why hadn’t she left anything? It wasn’t like her. If something were to make her fall in love with Chat Noir so easily, she would no doubt leave something indicating how and why.

But no, evidently she did not. This fact bothered her to bits. “Why didn’t I leave _anything_?” Marinette complained, handing the macaron to Tikki.

“Perhaps you didn’t feel the need to.” Tikki took a bite. “You may have had faith it would happen again. Or-” Tikki cut herself off. 

“Or what?” Marinette raised her eyebrows.

“No, nothing. Something just occurred to me.” Tikki shook her head. She intended not to get involved. 

“What occurred to you? Do you know what happened?” Marinette crouched down before Tikki, leaning in close. 

Tikki shook her head again, closing her eyes. “It’s not important.” 

“If you tell me I’ll bake you a whole tray of any flavour macaron you want.” Marinette smiled. 

“N-” Tikki hesitated. “A whole tray?” 

“A whole tray.”

“Mmm..” Tikki imagined it. Fresh macarons, flavour of her choice. All hers if she simply get involved for a few seconds... “Okay, okay. Can you make them strawberry?”

“Of course.” Marinette stood up triumphantly. 

“It’s just that... Maybe you didn’t leave yourself any hints because you thought you already knew.” It was the first and only theory Tikki had or would ever share, and it was the best anyone had come up with yet.

Marinette considered this for a moment. “Like, as in Chat Noir and I already thought we knew each other’s identity?”

“Yes, more or less.” Tikki replied, deciding to now withdraw from participation.

“But then for us to kiss... Did we also think we were dating?” Marinette frowned. Tikki remained silent, finishing off the last of her macaron. Marinette was much luckier than Adrien in terms of having a helpful kwami. While Tikki typically kept herself quiet, she could be coerced and helpful, however Plagg... Plagg could be convinced, yes. But typically his contributions were half hearted and rarely helpful. 

And Adrien’s constant muttering of theories was getting on his nerves. Plagg was currently sleeping in Adrien’s desk drawer, trying to tune out the two teenaged boys playing video games in the same room. “And I win again.” Adrien smiled, putting his controller down calmly. 

“Ugh.” Nino tossed his controller across the couch. “Whatever, man.” He shook his head. “I’m thinking of taking Alya to that new cafe that opened up because I heard her and Marinette talking about it earlier today, but I want to make sure it’s good there. Do you want to check it out with me soon?” He asked, jokingly putting his hand on Adrien’s shoulder. Adrien stared vacantly at him. Nino frowned. “Okay, never mind.” He took his hand off Adrien’s shoulder. 

“No, no! I’ll check it out with you.” Adrien shook his head frantically. “Sorry, man, I was just reminded of something.” Adrien felt so very dumb. There are practically two people he knows with a name starting with M, and it took Nino _saying_ the other option aloud for it to even occur to Adrien. 

Marinette!

She was Adrien’s friend and he didn’t even consider her until that very second. It took every fibre of his being not to kick Nino out right now just so he could do research. “Okay, cool, man.” Nino smiled. He stretched his arms and stood up. “I should get going, I need to finish that French paper. 

“You mean the one that was due today?” Adrien asked, relieved. 

“That’s the one.” Nino shot finger guns towards Adrien. “I’ll see you tomorrow, bro.” Nino waved to Adrien, letting himself out. Adrien rushed over to his desk, nudging his computer awake. Plagg groaned and pushed the drawer open from inside. 

“I take it you realized?” He rubbed at his eyes. 

“Why didn’t you remind me?” Adrien shot Plagg a look. 

“Why would I tell you.” Plagg laid down on the desk, curling up. Adrien frowned and began typing, pulling up images of Marinette taken by fellow classmates. He took note of the pig tails, hair colour, eye colour, height, everything. 

God he was stupid. 

All there was to do now was see how she acts, see if she behaves like his Lady. And try to be less obvious than he was when observing Mylene. Because he would otherwise have to suffer the wrath of someone far worse than Ivan. If Nino and Alya caught him _staring_ at Marinette what would they immediately think? That he was observing her behaviour to try and match her up with the saviour of Paris? No, they would assume the same as Ivan did. That he _liked_ her. 

It was the teasing he was afraid of, truly.


	5. Five

Adrien bit absently at the end of his pen, his eyes vacantly lingering on the chalk board. Unfortunately for him, it was not easy to look at Marinette from where he sat in homeroom, let alone observe her. Mylene, at least, was diagonally behind him. With just a small turn of his head, out of the corner of his eye he could nearly perfectly see Mylene. But Marinette? To see her he had to turn his head completely around, which isn’t suspicious in the slightest. 

The only time he had to watch her today was during lunch and art, otherwise he would have to wait for gym class tomorrow. The pen dropped from his lips at the sound of the bell. Unbeknownst to Adrien, the girl he was supposed to watch just so happened to be watching him from behind, and near drooling over his absent minded chewing. Marinette nearly screeched when Adrien stood at the sound of the bell and turned his head to glance in her direction. He offered her a smile and all she could give in return was an anxious squeak. Alya sighed loudly from beside. 

“Grab your stuff, Marinette. I’m hungry.” She complained, her belongings already stuffed into her bag. Marinette rushed to gather her things, trying to ignore the look Adrien gave her. She stood up to see Adrien already gone along with the majority of her classmates. Marinette and Alya descended to the courtyard, chattering away. They found an empty table and sat across from each other, pulling out their lunches. 

If Marinette was aware of Adrien staring at her from the balcony above then she was doing a fantastic job at hiding it. “Dude, do we seriously have to eat up here?” Nino complained from Adrien’s side, taking a bite from his sandwich. 

“I was told altitude was good for my pores at my last photo shoot.” Adrien shrugged, lying through his teeth. Nino sighed and took another bite of his sandwich. Adrien pretended to scan the courtyard below him, allowing his eyes to linger subtly on Marinette. Nino coughed, drawing Adrien’s attention. 

“If you’re going to stare at them...” Nino said squinting his eyes. Adrien hid his annoyance. He thought he was being subtle! “We might as well go sit with Alya and Marinette. I wouldn’t mind that.” 

“But- my pores.” Adrien frantically pointed to his face. If he sat at the same table as them it would be more likely for someone else to notice him looking at Marinette more frequently than usual, as subtlety had proved not to be his forte. 

“It won’t kill your pores to sit 10 feet lower for half an hour. Come on.” Nino grabbed Adrien’s arm and tugged him down stairs. The pair approached the table, coming to a halt a few feet away. “Do you girls mind if we sit with you?” Nino asked, looking to Alya. 

“Of course not.” Alya patted the seat next to her. Nino quickly took the place of her hand, leaving only the spot next to Marinette open. Adrien hesitated before sitting down. There was a small part of him beginning to doubt his current theory. What if the message he left himself meant literally anything else? _M_ could represent a lot, not just a name. If Marinette truly was Ladybug, he surely would have noticed it before, right? He knew Ladybug like the back of his hand, and Marinette was among his closest friends. It seemed impossible that he wouldn’t have noticed by now. 

Of course, knowing Ladybug like the back of his hand had its advantages in this situation. There was one thing that came to mind that was a perfect tell for Ladybug. But he had to wait for the perfect moment, or rather, the _purr_ fect moment. “Oh, shoot. I left my drink in my locker.” Alya said, frowning. She glanced up to Nino. “Would you like to accompany me?” 

“Lead the way.” Nino said, standing with Alya. The pair left, leaving Marinette and Adrien alone. _And there it is_ Adrien thought. He shifted his gaze to Marinette, who took a bite from her apple. She appeared to be studying the pattern of the lunch table. 

“What’s wrong, Marinette?” Adrien said, frowning. “ _Cat’s_ got your tongue?” He contained a very Chat Noir-esque smirk. Marinette instinctively let out a mix between a snort and a groan. It’s as if she had grown used to reacting to cat puns in such a manner. A very, very Ladybug-esqure manner. 

Not a second later, Marinette covered her mouth, a furious blush spreading over her face. “I’m sorry.” She mumbled through her closed fingers. “I... I don’t know why I did that.” She looked the other direction, horribly embarrassed. It wasn’t even a joke in this situation. It’s not as if Adrien were in a cat suit, which, you know, would make it into quite the hilarious joke. Adrien pursed his lips in a tight smile, looking at the back of Marinette’s turned head. She put her apple down on the table and kept her head turned. 

“It’s okay, Marinette.” Adrien attempted to reassure her. “Actually, I want to ask-” He said as Nino and Alya approached. 

“It turns out I didn’t bring myself a drink today.” Alya shrugged, taking her seat again. “Woah, Marinette. Are you okay?” 

“I’m okay.” Marinette picked her apple up again and took a large bite. “Sorry, just recovering from... choking on some apple.” She smiled and allowed her expression to return to normal. Adrien kept his question to himself, listening to the following conversation closely. While the previous interaction indicated her secret identity, he couldn’t be sure just from that. Adrien would need to try a few more things before he could confirm that his Lady was in front of him all along.


	6. Six

Marinette closed her locker, clipping the lock shut. Alya sat behind her on a bench, glancing around. Once the last student left the room, she turned with a grin on her face. “You had to notice it, right?” 

“Notice what?” Marinette asked, turning to face Alya. 

“Oh, come on. Adrien was totally looking at you way more than usual at lunch today.” Alya winked. 

“Oh no.” Marinette frowned, feeling horribly embarrassed. 

“What? Why aren’t you excited? He was looking at you so much, girl.” Alya raised her brow. “Did something happen when Nino and I left?”

Marinette dragged a hand down her face. “I just sort of- embarrassed myself in front of him when you had left.”

“What did you do?”

“I did a really ugly laugh at something that I don’t even think was a joke. I didn’t look at him for the rest of lunch.” Marinette groaned. “And- he was about to ask me something right before you came back. But then he never did.” 

“Maybe that’s why he was staring at you then...” Alya tapped her jaw. “Or maybe he was studying you in the same way that you study him.” She winked again. 

“Stop winking so much. I know that isn’t it.” Marinette waved Alya off as she approached the door, Alya following in tow. 

“But it’s totally possible.” Alya frowned. “You’re being too pessimis-” She slammed into the back of Marinette, who had stopped dead in her track. “Ow, Marinette, you couldn’t give a little warning?” Alya complained, fixing her glasses. “Oh.” She said, looking up to see Adrien standing before Marinette. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He said, an apologetic look painted over his face. Marinette stood silent. Alya came to her side and smiled at Adrien. “Alya, Nino’s waiting on the steps for you. Have fun at the cafe.” 

“Oh, perfect.” Alya said, giving Marinette a pat on the arm. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She walked off, looking back to Marinette to wink one last time before she vanished behind the school doors. Marinette and Adrien were quickly alone in the courtyard, a sports team had just finished filing into the locker room, their chatter faintly audible. 

“Marinette, about what I wanted to ask you earlier-” Adrien began before being cut off.

“-I’m really sorry for laughing like that earlier.” Marinette blurted out, immediately regretting it after seeing Adrien’s expression.

“That’s... Not what I was going to ask about.” He shook his head gently. “No, I guess it’s not much of a question, but more of an observation.” Marinette looked at him with mild fear. “I realized that you remind me of someone, a _lady_ I know.” He watched for her reaction, noticing only a small twitch in the corner of her lips. 

“Oh?” Marinette replied, doing her best to keep her face neutral. She wasn’t sure what he was getting at, but she didn’t like his choice of words. 

“Yeah, how you reacted to that cat thing was just like her.” Adrien said. His eyes locked on to her earrings, everything further clicking in his mind. 

“Was it?” Marinette continued to keep her expression more or less neutral. There were a few moments where Adrien was afraid he was wrong, that Marinette wasn’t Ladybug. And if that were the case then he would have 2 problems. One: Who else could it be? Who else’s name starts with an M that could be Ladybug? Two: How would he get out of this conversation with Marinette without making it weird? If she isn’t Ladybug then this conversation would end with no point, and surely leave her confused. And so, it was in that moment that Adrien decided to go all in. The evidence he had, he felt, was enough to justify being blatant. If he were to be wrong? Well, he would deal with that if it came to it. 

“Where did you get your earrings?” Adrien asked, leaning forward slightly. 

“They were a gift from my grandmother.” Marinette had clearly practised this line, as it nearly convinced Adrien. Nearly. 

“Oh?” Adrien said, pushing back his hair with his hand. Marinette’s eyes widened slightly, her eyes locked on to his ring. It was as if something clicked in her head. Adrien dropped his hand lower and stretched out his fingers. Marinette’s eyes continued to follow the ring. “They kind of remind me of my ring, in a weird way.”

“Do they?” Marinette said in a faint voice. 

Adrien looked at her with a knowing smirk that made her heart skip a beat. “They do.” Adrien replied, leaning in more. “You don’t get the same feeling, my Lady?” He said, taking a leap. 

Marinette froze for a second. She glanced up at him, her lips pursed. “ _Oh._ ”

“Am I right?”

Marinette opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She looked to the ground. “Are... Are you...?” She managed to say.

“Chat Noir?” Adrien said, taking the final leap. “And I was right, you’re Ladybug.” He kept his voice low, even though they were still alone. 

“...Yes.” Marinette finally said. It was starting to make sense to her, what had happened during their battle with Oblivio. If it was Adrien with her... But that would mean that he also... Marinette’s mind was spinning, her eyes still locked on the ground. Adrien grabbed Marinette’s hand. 

“Marinette, I-” Adrien paused, a thought running through his head. He frowned. “You’re Ladybug, and I love you. But...You still have feelings for another boy, right?”

Marinette waited a moment, hung up on hearing him say that he loved her, before looking to Adrien, a blank look on her face. She blinked at him. Did he really not know?

“What?” Adrien asked, letting go of her hand. His heart began to sink. Even though he had found his Lady, he still would not be able to be with her. Before he felt it would work out so well if it did end up being Marinette, but he had forgotten about the boy Ladybug had feelings for. 

“Do... Do you not know?” Marinette was genuinely surprised. She thought, in some capacity, he would have known about her feelings for him. 

“Know what?”

“Adrien, I...” She pursed her lips. “I like _you_. You’re the boy I like.” She averted her eyes back to the ground. 

Adrien took her hand again, this time bringing it to his lips. He left a soft kiss against the back of her hand and smiled into it. “This couldn’t have worked out any better then, could it?” 

“But you like Ladybug. Not me, not Marinette.” She frowned. 

“You are Ladybug. Even if it took me until now to notice it.” Adrien said. Marinette blushed and looked at him. 

“O-oh.” 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you do me the honour of having dinner with me?” Adrien asked, his hands clasped around hers.

Marinette processed his words for a moment, never having expected Adrien Agreste to say those words to her. “Yes. Yes, I would love to.” 

Adrien smiled and dropped their hands down. “Does tonight work for you?” 

“It does.” Marinette did everything in her power not to show just how excited she was. The courtyard quickly became flooded with chatter as the sports team exited form the locker room. 

“I suppose we should get out of here.” Adrien said, motioning to the door. 

“I suppose we should.” Marinette echoed. She smiled softly as she walked beside Adrien out of the school, down the steps, and to his chauffeur's car.


	7. Seven

It wasn’t until Marinette plopped on to her bed that it occurred to her to let Alya know what just happened. Or at least, a diluted version of what happened. She didn’t need this to be the reason her secret identity was revealed. Marinette pulled her phone from her bag and held it over her face, clicking on Alya’s contact. “Hey, girl, what’s up?”

“Alya, you won’t _believe_ wha-” Marinette began, a huge smile spread over her face.

“Shh, Nino.” Alya laughed a little, her head clearly far from the phone. “Sorry, Marinette. What were you saying?” 

“Oh, Alya, I’m sorry. I forgot you were out with Nino.” Marinette said, feeling so, so stupid. “I can tell you about it later.”

“No, no, it’s okay. Just tell me about it as condensed as you can. What’s going on?” 

“Okay, um...” Marinette pursed her lips, trying to think of what to say. “Adrien asked me on a date after school. We’re going tomorrow.” 

“What?” Alya said, choking on whatever she just drank. 

“What happened?” Nino’s voice was faintly audible through the phone. 

“Adrien asked her out on a date.” Alya replied.

“Finally!” Nino exclaimed. 

“Okay, okay. Marinette you have to promise me that you’ll tell me all about it later, but right now our food is coming.” Alya said. 

“Of course. Have fun, Alya.” Marinette tapped the end call button and dropped her phone beside her head.

“What a day you’ve had.” Tikki said, settling down on Marinette’s pillow. “So now you know why you kissed.” 

“I do.” Marinette smiled. “What am I going to wear tomorrow?” Marinette sat up as if a shot of electricity went though her. 

“Don’t over think it.” Tikki advised. “He knows you, you know him. I strongly doubt he’ll care what you wear.”

“But it’s a _date_ , Tikki.” Marinette gestured to her outfit. “I can’t just wear anything.” 

“You’re going to see a movie.”

“But it’s our first date.” Marinette looked alarmed. “What if it’s also our last date?” 

“You’re being over dramatic. You know how much he loves Ladybug, also known as you.” Tikki shook her head. Marinette grumbled before turning her head as her phone buzzed. She picked it up and smiled. “What is it?” Tikki asked.

“Adrien. He sent a text saying that he’s looking forward to tomorrow.” Marinette said, the grin lingering on her face. 

“See? You have nothing to worry about.” Tikki flew over to Marinette, resting on her shoulder.

“Maybe you’re right.” Marinette looked happily to Tikki. “I think it will be okay.”


End file.
